176 

.PI"? 


Reprinted  from  The  University  of  Colorado  Studies,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  i,  November,  1905 


THE  HISTORICAL  OPPORTUNITY  IN  COLORADO 

By  FREDERIC  L.  PAXSON 

There  is  great  danger  lest  the  teacher  of  history  in  the  far  West 
should  bewail  the  thousand  odd  miles  that  separate  him  from  the  source 
material  of  his  profession,  and  so  overlook  the  opportunity  that  lies  at 
his  feet.  He  is  too  liable  to  forget  that  the  parallel  to  the  course  of 
his  own  country  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  seen;  that  the  external  facts 
of  the  history  of  the  West  show  to  the  thoughtful  worker  a  field  of 
amazing  richness,  and  that  the  internal  facts,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
exploited,  confirm  the  first  impression.  The  chance  to  investigate  the 
workings  of  a  civilization  which  in  less  than  half  a  century  has  passed 
from  wilderness  through  frontier  and  pioneer  conditions  to  order  and 
wealth  is  what  he  ought  to  see  before  him.  And  the  opportunity  to 
work  out  the  causes  and  results  in  this  concentrated  life  is  his  historical 
opportunity. 

It  is  useless  for  the  student  of  history  in  Colorado  to  mourn  over  the 
absence  of  great  libraries.  He  may  as  well  admit  the  fact  that  the  his- 
torical  library  is  a  product  of  generations,  and  that,  save  for  two  or  three 
working  collections  of  various  degrees  of  incompleteness,  such  a  library 
is  not  within  his  reach.  If  he  be  a  worker  in  any  field  of  general  history, 
be  it  European,  mediaeval,  ancient,  or  even  American,  he  must  be 
content  with  a  few  secondary  authorities.  He  cannot  hope,  even  with 
access  to  all  the  libraries  in  the  state,  to  produce  a  piece  of  original 
work  that  will  add  anything  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world.  But  if 
he  admit  this  fact,  and  settle  down  to  the  belief  that  no  productive  work 
in  history  can  be  done  in  Colorado,  he  will  overlook  in  the  local  field 
a  historical  opportunity  that  is  hardly  to  be  equaled  in  the  United  States. 

The  beginnings  have  been  made  in  the  writing  of  the  history  of 
Colorado,  but  the  journalists  have  thus  far  monopolized  the  work,  and 
it  is  only  today  that  the  trained  historical  scholar  is  coming  to  weigh  the 
evidence  and  record 'a  critical  judgment.  A  small  number  of  general 
works  must  be  considered  by  anyone  who  undertakes  to  study  the 


2O  UNIVERSITY  OF  COLORADO   STUDIES 

history  of  the  state;  the  production  of  monographs  has  begun,  and 
new  studies  are  appearing  in  increasing  number;  while  the  collection 
of  the  raw  material  for  future  studies  is  fairly  well  advanced. 

The  histories  of  Colorado  begin  with  Hollister's  handbook  for  miners,1 
published  in  the  sixties  and  containing  a  brief  sketch  of  the  growth  of 
the  territory.  Most  of  them  have  followed  this  work,  accepting  its 
conclusions  and  giving  to  it  more  or  less  credit.  Fossett,2  in  his  work 
of  a  decade  later,  is  much  indebted  to  his  predecessor;  and  the  monu- 
mental work  of  General  Hall3  is  based  upon  the  foundation  of  Hollister, 
supplemented  by  a  knowledge  of  newspapers  and  the  copious  memory 
of  one  who  was  more  than  a  spectator  in  the  early  days  of  the  territory. 
The  pages  of  Bancroft4  on  the  state  show  a  knowledge  of  the  same  source, 
while  those  of  Byers5  show  the  same  indebtedness,  reinforced  by  the 
memory  of  an  active  pioneer. 

In  a  less  general  sense,  Hollister  is  still  used  as  a  source,  but  the  local 
antiquarians  have  provided  much  material  for  the  future  historian. 
Such  books  as  those  published  by  Baskin  &  Company  of  Chicago6  for 
the  subscription  trade  are  by  no  means  to  be  disregarded.  Boyd's 
History  oj  Greeley1  is  rich  in  documents  and  economic  details.  The 
biographical  subscription  works8  record  personal  details  for  many  a 
valuable  footnote.  And  Smiley's  History  oj  Denver9  is  a  conscientious 
attempt  to  tell  the  story  that  has  had  a  large  measure  of  success.  It 
is  the  best  of  the  works  in  print  on  the  history  of  Colorado. 

1  OVANDO  J.  HOLLISTER,  The  Mines  of  Colorado  (Springfield,  Mass.,  1867). 

»  FRANK  FOSSETT,  Colorado:   A  Historical,  Descriptive,  and  Statistical  Work  on  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Region  (Denver:   Daily  Tribune  Steam  Printing  House,  1876). 
3  FRANK  HALL,  History  oj  the  State  of  Colorado  (4  vols.,  illustrated;   Chicago,  1889). 

*  HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT,  History  of  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming,  1540-1888  (San  Francisco' 
1800;  Vol.  XXV  of  his  Works). 

*  WILLIAM  N.  BYERS,  "History  of  Colorado,"  in  Encyclopedia  of  Biography  of  Colorado,  Vol.  I  (Chicago: 
The  Century  Publishing  and  Engraving  Company,  1001). 

6  History  of  the  City  of  Denver,  Arapahoe  County,  and  Colorado  (Chicago,  1800 V,  History  of  Clear  Creek 
and  Boulder  Valleys,  Colorado  (Chicago,  1800);  History  of  the  Arkansas  Valley,  Colorado  (Chicago,  1891). 

»  DAVID  BOYD,  A  History  of  Greeley  and  the  Union  Colony  of  Colorado  (Greeley,  Colo.,  1800). 

8  See  the  Encyclopedia  of  Biography,  noted  above,  and  Portrait  and  Biographical  Record  of  Denver  and 
Vicinity,  Colorado,  Containing  Portraits  and  Biographies  nf  Many  Well  Known  Citizens  of  the  Past  and  Present, 
Together  with  Biographies  and  Portraits  of  All  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  (Chicago,  Chapman  Pub. 
Co.,  1898). 

»  JEROME  C.  SMILEY,  History  of  Denver,  with  Outlines  of  the  Earlier  History  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Country  (Denver,  1001). 


THE   HISTORICAL  OPPORTUNITY  IN  COLORADO  21 

It  may  be  said  that  the  outlines  of  the  history  of  the  State  have  been 
denned  in  a  superficial  way,  and  that  personal  recollection,  strengthened 
by  an  uncritical  use  of  newspapers,  has  done  as  much  as  can  be  expected 
of  it.  The  next  step,  which  is  the  production  of  critical  monographs  on 
details  of  the  history,  is  now  being  taken.  The  learned  institutions  of  the 
state  are  showing  a  consciousness  of  their  duty  in  respect  to  the  local 
problem,1  while  the  neighboring  states  that  once  embraced  the  territory 
of  Colorado  are  aiding  in  the  work,2  and  individuals  within  the  state  are 
doing  something  in  the  way  of  publication  of  personal  reminiscences.3 

As  a  means  for  aiding  this  production  of  monograph  literature,  the 
gathering  of  source  material  has  not  only  been  begun,  but  has  resulted 
in  at  least  two  valuable  collections  of  Coloradoana.  The  sources  for 
the  history  of  Colorado  are  to  be  found  in  several  different  classes, 
none  of  which  may  be  neglected  by  the  student.  The  documents  of 
the  state,  which  form  the  foundation  for  the  legal  portion  of  the  history, 
include  the  printed  statutes,  journals  and  reports  of  both  state  and 
territorial  periods,  and  the  great  mass  of  unpublished  manuscript  records 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  Capitol  and  the  counties.4 
The  statutes,  documents  and  debates  of  Congress  also  throw  much 
light  on  special  phases  of  Colorado  history.  In  the  matter  of  non- 
official  sources,  the  newspapers  lead  the  way,  subject  always  to  the 
limitations  upon  material  of  this  sort.  The  mistakes  of  both  head  and 
heart  which  abound  in  the  daily  press  do  not  destroy  its  source  value, 
but  certainly  do  impose  upon  the  student  the  necessity  for  more  care 
and  higher  degrees  of  criticism  than  do  any  other  of  our  modern  sources. 
Personal  recollections,  biographies  and  other  private  works  add  greatly 
to  the  source  material  at  the  disposal  of  the  scholar. 

1  ELMER  H.  MEYER  (of  the  University  of  Denver),  "The  Constitution  of  Colorado,"  in  Iowa  Journal  of 
History  and  Politics,  Vol.  II,  pp.  256-274;  FREDERIC  L.  PAXSON  (of  the  University  of  Colorado),  "The  Bounda- 
ries of  Colorado,"  in  University  ofaColorado  Studies,  Vol.  II,  pp.  87-94;  B.  M.  RASTAL£  (of  Colorado  College), 
"The  Cripple  Creek  Strike  of  1893,"  in  Colorado  College  Studies,  Social  Science  Series,  No.  5,  June,  1905,  pp. 
1-48. 

»  HELEN  G.  GILL,  "The  Establishment  of  Counties  in  Kansas,"  in  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  Vol. 
VIII,  pp.  1-23;  W.  J.  SPILLMAN,  "Adjustment  of  the  Texas  Boundary  in  1850,"  in  Quarterly  of  the  Texas 
State  Historical  Association,  Vol.  VII,  No.  3,  pp.  177-195. 

s  Early  Day  Letters  from  Auraria  (now  Denver)  Written  by  Libeus  Barney  to  tlie  Bennington  Banner, 
Benninqton,  Vermont,  18^9-1860  (n.  d.). 

4  F.  L.  PAXSON,  "The  Public  Archives  of  the  State  of  Colorado,"  in  Annual  Report  of  the  American 
Historical  Association  for  the  Year  1903,  Vol.  I,  pp.  415-437. 


22  UNIVERSITY   OF  COLORADO   STUDIES 

The  most  notable  collection  of  materials  for  the  history  of  Colorado 
is  to  be  found  in  the  private  library  of  the  president  of  the  State  Histori- 
cal and  Natural  History  Society,  Mr.  Edward  B.  Morgan,  of  Den- 
ver. This  collection  is  the  result  of  a  prolonged  search  for  books  and 
pamphlets  written  about  Colorado,  in  Colorado  or  by  Coloradoans. 
Its  bound  volumes  go  above  five  hundred,  while  its  pamphlets  run  into 
the  thousands.  The  labors  of  Mr.  Morgan  are  being  supplemented 
today  by  those  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Ferrill,  curator  of  the  same  society.  The 
files  of  newspapers  and  the  bundles  of  photographs  gathered  by  him 
and  guarded  in  the  vaults  of  the  Capitol  form  a  nucleus  for  a  great 
historical  library  at  some  future  day. 

This  much  has  been  done  toward  the  writing  of  the  history  of  Colo- 
rado: the  general  outline  has  been  sketched,  a  few  minor  points  have 
been  cleared  up  in  careful  monographs,  and  the  gathering  of  source 
material  is  progressing  as  rapidly  as  public  and  private  means  will 
allow.  But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  work  that  calls  today  for 
more  laborers  than  the  state  has  ever  provided.  In  whatever  field  the 
local  historian  may  choose  to  work,  he  can  find  the  ground  practically 
unbroken  and  the  opportunity  complete.  It  makes  no  difference 
whether  he  choose  to  investigate  workings  of  the  institutions  of  the  state 
and  the  general  activities  of  its  government,  or  the  development  of  local 
county  or  municipal  institutions,  or  the  larger  problems  of  transporta- 
tion, irrigation  or  politics  that  connect  the  state  with  its  neighbor  com- 
monwealths and  the  United  States.  In  every  direction  he  may  advance 
with  the  assurance  that  his  contribution  to  history  will  be  limited  only 
by  his  industry  and  ability.  The  historical  opportunity  of  Colorado 
lies  in  this  field. 

The  central  government  of  Colorado  tempts  the  historical  worker 
because  of  its  rapid  extension,  highly  concentrated  in  point  of  time. 
A  period  of  forty-five  years  covers  the  whole  of  Colorado  history,  and 
and  in  this  period  there  has  developed,  out  of  the  barren  frontier  that 
had  been  the  Great  American  Desert,  a  modern  commonwealth  with 
its  various  political,  economic  and  social  activities.  Growth  that  has 
occupied  a  century  in  older  states  has  occurred  here  in  a  generation, 
while  in  many  directions  the  growth  has  been  almost  unique.  A  high- 


THE  HISTORICAL  OPPORTUNITY  IN  COLORADO  23 

school  system  with  83  per  cent,  of  its  instructors  college  graduates  calls 
loudly  for  a  historical  explanation.  A  universal  application  of  irriga- 
tion law  gives  a  distinctive  color  and  emphasis  to  legal  history;  while 
the  relation  of  a  state  government  to  the  control  of  mines  can  be  studied 
here  in  all  its  aspects. 

The  field  of  local  institutional  history  has  never  been  worked  to 
its  extreme  capacity  in  the  United  States.  Much  has  been  done  in  the 
far  East,  but  even  there  the  study  has  been  fragmentary,  and  has  been 
embarrassed  in  many  cases  by  the  historical  remoteness  of  the  origins. 
Throughout  the  West  in  general  this  remoteness  does  not  exist.  In 
Colorado  it  is  still  possible  to  supplement  the  documentary  evidence 
as  to  historical  beginnings  with  the  recollection  of  historical  partici- 
pants. And  the  fact  that  the  growth  has  been  unduly  rapid  gives  an 
unusual  degree  of  continuity  to  the  institutions.  There  is  not  a  town 
or  community  in  Colorado  but  has  some  economic  or  political  reason 
for  its  existence  and  needs  its  careful  historian.  The  mine  and  the 
watershed  are  still  to  be  measured  and  estimated  in  their  influences 
upon  place  and  form  of  social  life. 

Transportation  is  perhaps  the  most  significant  element  in  the  history 
of  the  West.  It  not  only  constitutes  a  large  part  of  the  cost  of  every 
commodity  in  use,  but  it  possesses  the  power  to  build  up  or  to  destroy 
whole  communities.  Yet  no  one  has  written  adequate  histories  of  the 
wagon  routes  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Rockies  which  made  Colorado 
possible;  no  one  has  exhausted  the  subject  of  Federal  policy  towards 
continental  railroads  and  public  lands;1  no  one  has  even  broken  the 
ground  in  the  deveploment  of  transportation  by  road,  trail,  steam  and 
electricity  within  the  state.  All  these  fields  are  crying  for  some  one 
to  exploit  them. 

The  opportunity  thus  opening  in  Colorado  makes  it  possible  for 
every  student  of  American  history  to  do  something  in  the  field  of  his- 
torical research.  Every  topic  that  he  works  out  strengthens  himself, 
and  every  article  or  note  that  he  prints  makes  smoother  the  path  of  his 
colleagues.  Whether  he  work  in  connection  with  a  great  educational 

1  Two  of  the  Bulletins  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  reveal  the  possibilities  in  this  general  field.    JOHN 
BELL  SANBORN,  "Congressional  Grants  of  Land  in  Aid  of  Railways,"  Bulletin  No.  30  (Madison,  1899); 
JOSEPH  SCHAFER,  "The  Origin  of  the  System  of  Land  Grants  for  Education,"  Bulletin  No.  63  (Madison,  1902) 


24  UNIVERSITY  OF  COLORADO   STUDIES 

i 

institution,  or  in  a  local  school,  or  in  the  privacy  of  his  own  study,  the 
opportunity  is  the  same.  It  is  the  chance  to  write  a  history  that  is 
yet  fresh  from  the  making  and  that  presents  its  materials  close  to  every 
hand. 

Particularly  in  the  case  of  the  local  schools  is  the  opportunity  attrac- 
tive. For  the  senior  year  in  the  high  school  the  ideal  course  in  history 
is  based  on  American  history  and  civil  government.  It  is  thus  possible, 
in  the  case  of  that  majority  of  students  whose  scholastic  education  is 
now  in  its  completion,  to  fill  the  mind  with  the  actualities  of  local  life. 
The  mayor  and  the  alderman  possess  a  new  interest  when  the  student 
applies  his  theory  of  civics  to  the  workings  of  his  town.  And  if  he  thus 
realize  the  difference  between  the  theory  and  practice,  he  is  made  thereby 
the  better  citizen.  The  basis  of  American  history  is  more  clearly 
understood  if  he  identify  some  of  its  conditions  as  they  have  appeared 
in  the  making  of  his  own  community.  And,  fresh  from  this  last  year 
of  the  high  school,  he  is  thrown  out  into  his  later  world  with  history  and 
politics  as  real  things,  not  as  shadowy  phantoms.  From  a  practical 
standpoint  of  public  morality,  no  man  who  has  once  learned  to  look 
historically  upon  his  local  government  is  likely  to  place  himself  in  an 
embarrassing  historical  attitude.  The  judgment  of  the  daily  press  is 
commonly  personal  or  political — mistaken  in  either  case — but  the  esti- 
mate of  history  must,  in  the  long  run  of  events,  be  right. 

The  student,  the  teacher,  and  the  man  in  the  street  are  only  just 
beginning  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  historical  position  of 
Colorado  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  region.  "Here, "'writes  one  of  the 
workers,  "is  the  virgin  soil  almost  untouched  by  the  student  or  the 
historian.  Here,  too,  it  is  possible  to  study  the  frontier  at  close  range, 
and  to  carry  out  for  states  and  sections  that  magnificent  line  of  research 
work  which  Professor  Turner  of  Wisconsin  and  others  are  doing  so 
admirably  for  the  country  as  a  whole." 

*  PROFESSOR  THOMAS  K.  URDAHI.,  in  "Introduction"  to  RASTALL,  Cripple  Creek  Strike  of  1893,  p.  iii. 


Lithomoimt 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gay  lord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAL  JAN  21,  1908 


